More Than Friends
by TakerTakeMe
Summary: This is a sequel to A Week In Their Lives: Love Is In The Air...
1. The Dream

**CHAPTER ONE: _The Dream_**

He stretched out in his bed in his hotel room and stared up at the ceiling in the dark. He couldn't stop thinking about her. It was so ridiculous, the way he was feeling, but he was powerless to stop the way he felt. He had been thinking about her nonstop ever since she had announced her engagement a few months ago, the day after Valentine's Day to be exact. Now the wedding was two weeks away, just two short weeks away. In two weeks, she would be lost to him forever. That fact made his heart squeeze painfully in his chest. _We never got a chance_, he thought miserably. _We never got a chance._

He drifted off into an uneasy sleep with thoughts of her on his mind...

_He woke to the sound of a soft knocking on the door of his hotel room. He got up and walked over to the door, yawning, and running a hand through his short hair. He wondered who it could be. Trying to make himself look as presentable as he could wearing only his silk boxers, he opened the door._

_He couldn't believe it was her. "Stephanie... You came," he whispered, in awe._

_"Of course I came," she answered. "I would never stand you up." He stood there looking at her, unsure of if this was a dream or if it was really real. "Are you going to invite me in?" she asked finally._

_He opened the door wider and allowed her to step inside. Shutting the door, he turned around, and was completely surprised when he found her standing right behind him with a devious look in her eyes. He had never seen her eyes so dark. She had never looked at him that way before._

_"You wanted to talk to me," she said, pursing her lips. "What's up?"_

_"I..." He couldn't even remember the reason he had asked her to come over. He had asked her at work the day before, and she had agreed to meet up with him. He had waited for her for hours in his hotel room until he was convinced that she wasn't coming. He had laid in his bed staring at the ceiling until he finally fell into a restless sleep, filled with dreams of only her. And now, here it was, two o'clock in the morning, and she was there._

_"Cat got your tongue, Champ?" she asked coyly. Before he could reply, she stepped closer, closing the short distance between them. She touched his face in the most tender way, then licked her lips as they curved into a brilliant smile._

_"What are you doing, Steph?" he asked, bewildered, as she caressed his face. "You're engaged to be married..."_

_"He's not here now," she replied in a soft voice. "It's just me and you, and nobody's watching..." She leaned up and kissed him softly._

_He kissed her back, feeling like he was living out a dream. This had to be a dream, because there was no way that Stephanie McMahon was kissing him like this, like she just couldn't get enough of him. There was no way that she could be pushing him over to the bed, no way that she could be pulling him down on top of her like this..._

_But she was._

_"I want you so much," he said in a low voice as he leaned over her. "You don't have any idea how long I've been wanting you."_

_"I've known for a very long time," she replied, pulling him to her. "And it's ok," she went on in a voice almost lower than a whisper. "Because I want you, too."_

_He kissed her again, and he wondered what he had done to deserve being with her like this. Then he pulled back, feeling guilty. "We shouldn't. You're engaged to another man..."_

_"Tonight, I'm yours," she reassured him._

_That was all the reassurance he needed as he slowly leaned down and captured her lips..._

He sat up straight in bed and looked around him. The bed beside him was empty. He was the only one in the room. She wasn't really there. He was, as usual, all alone.

He sighed and laid back down, closing his tired eyes. The dreams haunted him. They wouldn't go away no matter how much he prayed that they would. He tried not to think about her, but every night he found her on his mind. He could see her face, her dazzling smile, her beautiful body... She was his best friend, she was engaged, and her wedding was two weeks away.

He didn't want to know what the dreams meant, didn't want to even consider what they meant. But he knew. Inside, he knew...

John Cena was helplessly in love with Stephanie McMahon.


	2. Reassurance

**CHAPTER TWO: _Reassurance_**

"John, are you ok?" Stephanie asked, taking a bite out of her salad.

"I'm just peachy, Steph," John replied, not looking at her. "Why do you ask?"

"You just seem distracted lately," she said, putting her salad fork down. She leaned her elbows on the table and looked across at him. "Is there something wrong?"

"What could possibly be wrong?" he asked, forcing himself to look at her. "Everything is just perfect."

"Liar," she said shortly. "I know you, John, and something's bothering you. What is it?"

"I'd rather not ruin our lunch," he countered. "Let's just drop it... It's not exactly something I feel that we could talk about."

"Well, that's too bad, John. We're best friends, and as your best friend, I _demand_ that you tell me what's wrong," she said, reaching across the small table to take his hand.

_Her hands are so soft_, he thought, and instantly he was reminded of the way she had touched him in his dream, of her soft hands caressing his skin...

"Well?" she said expectantly, still holding his hand. "I'm waiting."

"Really, it's nothing. I can han..." His voice trailed off as she started running her thumb lightly over his hand. He gulped at the tingling sensations just that simple contact was giving him and wondered why he hadn't felt this way around her _before_ she had gotten engaged to Chris.

"What were you saying?" she asked.

He shook his head and cleared his throat. "I said it's nothing. I can handle it myself," he said, gently pulling his hand away from hers and standing up. "I'm about ready to head back over to the arena. You?"

"Ok, Johnny boy," she teased, standing up. "But I'll get the truth out of you one way or another."

"I'd like to see you try," he said. He paid for their lunch and held the door for her as they walked out.

"I know where your sensitive spots are," she said suddenly. "And I know that you happen to be extremely ticklish."

"You wouldn't tickle me in public," he said, putting his hands in his pockets as they started the short walk back to the arena.

"Of course not," she agreed. "I'd wait until we were _alone_ so I could make you scream."

"Make me scream?" he scoffed. His mind filled with images of exactly how she could make him scream... "There's nothing you could do to make me scream."

"Right. Like a low blow wouldn't make any man scream," she teased.

_A low blow... Time to change the subject_, he told himself. "So, um, how are things going with Chris?"

"Everything is going perfectly with him," she said excitedly, linking her arm with his as they walked. "I'm so excited. Can you _believe_ that in less than two weeks, I'm going to be a married woman?"

"Yeah, I can believe it," he said dully.

She looked at him, frowning. "You don't sound very excited."

"What? No, I'm excited," he said, smiling. His smile slowly faded and was replaced with a look of concern. "But, uh, don't you think you guys are rushing the wedding? You've only been engaged for four months."

"But we've been in love for _years_. If there's one lesson everyone needs to learn, it's that you should never wait when you're in love," she said. "I'm not, like, saying that you shouldn't wait if you're not ready. But if you're ready like Chris and I are, why wait? Why wait for love to pass you by?"

"I don't know, Steph," he said as they started to cross the street, still arm-in-arm. "It's just... I don't want to lose you."

She stopped walking in the middle of the street. "Is that what's bothering you?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Among other things," he admitted, looking down at her. "You're my best friend, Steph... I don't ever want that to change."

"It won't change. Just because I'm getting married... That doesn't mean you're going to lose me," she assured me. "As far as best friends go, I'm yours."

"So I'm not going to lose you?" he asked, needing to hear her say it once more for clarification.

"You're not going to get that lucky," she assured him with a laugh. A car whizzed around them and the driver honked his horn angrily. "But you will lose me if we don't get out of this street."

He smiled, reassured for the moment, then picked her up in his arms and jogged the rest of the way across the street...

**A/N: I'm going to be updating some of my other stories soon. I'm working on a new chapter of "Sometimes It Comes True", some other Chris/Steph stories, and my Taker stories, too. It's just taking me forever and a day to finish a new chapter!**


	3. Worries

**CHAPTER THREE: _Worries_**

"You know, Chris, I'm worried about John," Stephanie said thoughtfully. She was sitting in Chris's locker room on the couch, watching him get ready for the Highlight Reel. She just couldn't stop thinking about what John had said earlier about how he didn't want to lose her, and that had been at lunch over five hours ago.

"He _has_ been looking a little down lately," Chris said absently as he checked over his reflection in the mirror. "What's wrong with him, and how do I look?"

"He worries that you and I are rushing into marriage. He thinks that once you and I are married, he's going to lose me as a best friend," she answered. She stood up and walked over to where he was standing by the mirror. Wrapping her arms around his waist from behind, she leaned against his back and sighed contentedly. "And to answer your last question, you look sexy."

"How sexy?" he asked, turning around and putting his arms around her.

"A tad bit _too_ sexy to be doing the Highlight Reel," she replied with a smile. "Too sexy for me to let you out of this room, even."

"Oh, is that so?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "It's so."

"And how do you plan on keeping me in here?" he wanted to know.

"Oh, I have my ways," she said. "But if you _really_ want to know, it would go a little something like this..." She kissed him slowly, enjoying the response she got out of him. Oh, and his lips were so nice and soft...

He pulled back and glanced at the clock on the wall. "The Highlight Reel starts in roughly thirty five minutes..." He looked back at her with an impish grin on his face. "How much do you think we can get accomplished in thirty five minutes?"

"As much as you want to," she said, grinning at him.

"I love the way you think," he said.

"And _I_ love _you_," she replied, pulling him over to the couch.

"Oh yeah, and that, too," he teased.

"I am _so_ offended by that," she said, pretending to be upset.

"You know I love you, sweetheart," he said seriously as he hovered over her on the couch. "I love you more than I've ever loved anything before in my life."

"I know you do," she whispered back. She smiled. "But for now, just shut up and kiss me..."

"As you wish, Princess..."

He leaned down and kissed her, and the worries about John flew out of her mind as quickly as they had flown in...


	4. The Talk

**CHAPTER 4: _The Talk_**

"Ok, babe, I'm going to do the Highlight Reel," Chris said, standing up.

"Ok, but try not to be too sexy," Stephanie replied, smiling up at him.

"What do you mean? I'm a sexy beast," he reminded her. "It's impossible for me _not_ to be sexy, babe."

She laughed. "You're right. What was I thinking?"

"You're thinking about how, in less than two weeks, you're going to be Mrs. Stephanie McMahon-Jericho," he said, leaning down to gaze into her eyes. "And you know what? I'm thinking about it, too."

She gazed into his eyes and smiled. "I can't believe I'm going to be spending the rest of my life looking into your eyes," she whispered. "It's like a dream come true."

He smiled and kissed her soundly before standing up. "Well you better believe it, sweetheart," he said, heading for the door. "I'm going to make all your dreams come true, and I have the rest of my life to do it."

"You're so sweet," she sighed. "Have fun out there."

"I will... With me out there, it's always a party," he told her. He gave her one last smile, then slipped out the door, leaving her all alone.

Stephanie leaned back on the couch and smiled. She couldn't wait to get married to Chris. He truly was the love of her life... But then there was John, her best friend, and he didn't seem to share her feelings on this. It was important that he backed her up on this, though. She stood up. She was going to go and have a talk with him right now...

John sat in his locker room, staring off into space. He had so many things on his mind at the moment, and almost all of those things revolved around his best friend. Why hadn't he noticed how great Stephanie was _before_ she got engaged to Chris? He didn't know, and it didn't matter if he ever did, because in less than two weeks she would be Mrs. Stephanie McMahon-Jericho, and that would be the end of it...

"Stupid dreams," he muttered, flipping on the television in front of him. He groaned as he saw Chris making his entrance to the ring.

"There's my baby," a voice said proudly from behind him. He turned around and saw Stephanie leaning in the doorway, looking at Chris making his entrance on the TV. She smiled at John and walked all the way into the room, shutting the door behind her. "And what have you been dreaming about?"

"Dreaming about? What are you talking about?" he asked nervously, looking away. She could always tell if he was lying about something just by looking him in the eyes, and he really didn't want her to figure that out.

"Uh oh, you're trying not to look into my eyes," she said, walking over and sitting on the couch next to him. "So what are you trying to hide that you don't want me to know about?"

"I don't... I'm not hiding anything," he stammered, and then he wanted to slap himself. He always stammered when he lied, and he knew that _she_ knew that.

"And there goes the infamous Cena stammer," she laughed, putting her hand on his arm. "But really, John, I came to have a talk with you... What's going on?"

"I wish I knew," he said with a sigh, leaning back on the couch. "I mean, you're getting married and I'm having these crazy dreams and it's all happening so fast that I-"

"Speaking of fast, slow it down a little," she said, leaning against his chest. "Now put your arm around me and tell me all your problems."

_That's not such a good idea_, he thought, but nonetheless, he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. A few months ago, back before she got engaged, this position they were in was normal for them. Now that she was off-limits, the feeling his was getting from this small contact was...well, totally forbidden.

"You're too quiet," she said softly. "And I know something's wrong with you, so just come out with it already."

"You really want the truth?" he asked, looking away.

"Well, yeah," she said, looking up at him, still leaning her head against his chest. "So tell me."

"The other night, I had this dream about you," he began, closing his eyes. "And it scared the hell out of me."

"What was it about?" she asked curiously, her hand reaching over to run playful circles over his abdomen. "Was it like one of those scary dreams where I had three heads and claws?"

"I wish. Then I wouldn't be so confused about everything," he said, grabbing her hand. She pulled it away and kept drawing circles across his abdomen, and he grabbed it again. "Please don't do that, Steph. You don't understand what you're doing to me right now..."

She sat up and looked at him. "Ok, stop being so vague and spill it, because now you're really worrying me," she said, studying him carefully. "Exactly what kind of dream did you have?"

"You came to my room at like two in the morning...so we could talk," he explained, looking away. "But we didn't really talk. We... We kissed...a lot...and then I woke up, looking for you beside me..."

"Yikes," she said, standing up. "And when was this?"

"Like, two nights ago," he said, putting his head in his hands. "I don't know why I'm dreaming about you, Steph. It just happened...but if you hate me, I guess I can understand."

"Relax, honey," she said, sitting down next to him and putting her arms around him. "It was just a dream. As long as you know the difference between reality and a dream, then it's ok."

"Then you're not mad at me?" he asked hopefully, looking at her.

"Mad? Never," she said softy. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out..."

**A/N: It's been a long time, huh? I know, and I'm sorry about that. It's not that I forgot about this story or anything. I just forgot what direction it was going in...but now I know!**


	5. The Argument

**CHAPTER FIVE: _The Argument_**

"Did you ever find out what was wrong with John?" Chris asked Stephanie. He slipped into the bed next to her in their shared hotel room and propped himself up on his elbow so he could get a better look at her.

"Yes, and it's kind of weird but I don't think it's going to be that big of a deal," Stephanie answered, looking at him.

"So?" he asked expectantly.

"So...what?" she replied, lifting one eyebrow.

"So aren't you going to tell me what's wrong with him?"

"I told you, honey, it's really not that big of a deal," she said, looking away as she remembered exactly what John's little problem was. She had been a bit surprised at the nature of the dreams John had been having, and she vaguely wondered what Chris's reaction would be.

"You know we don't keep secrets in our relationship, Stephy," he said in a low voice, looking at her as he spoke. "And besides, if he's having any kind of problems...well, I'd like to try to help him through it. We've sort of become friends because of you, and I-"

"I know you have the most pure intentions, sweetie, but _I_ think you'd totally overreact to the situation," she said seriously. She could just imagine him getting pissed off if she told him what was really wrong with John. She'd seen Chris get mad before because of how other guys felt about her, and it hadn't been pretty... Of course, his anger was never directed at _her_, but she had to admit, he _did_ have some jealousy issues, and the only guy he really trusted her to be around was John... But how long would that last if she told him what was happening?

"Look, babe, just tell me," he said in a gentle, yet pleading tone. He reached over and lightly touched her cheek. "I'll stay cool, I promise."

She couldn't resist his touch, and he knew it. It was her weakness. She sighed, and then she just let it all pour out. "John's been having these dreams about me...dreams where I show up at his room door at, like, two in the morning to talk...but we never talk. Instead, we end up kissing."

"Is that his _dream_...or his _fantasy_?" he asked, sitting up in the bed.

"He says that it's just a dream, and I believe him," she said, sitting up as well.

"Well, I don't believe it," he said, frowning. "I'm a guy, and I know what I feel when I'm with you. What if he feels that, too?"

"He's not in love with me, Chris," she said, already wishing that she'd never told him about the dreams. "You don't have to worry about that."

"How do you know that, though? Did you ask him if he was in love with you?"

"I didn't feel any need to ask him that. It doesn't matter."

His mouth dropped. "Steph, how can you say that it doesn't matter? It matters a lot! He probably wants you."

"It's not that serious," she said, exasperated. "He says they're all just dreams. He knows the difference between reality and a dream."

"So he's had this dream more than once?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"Apparently," she replied. "But you have no reason to worry about him, though. I'm yours, Chris, forever. You and I are getting married really soon, and then it'll be official."

He was silent for a minute, going over what she'd said to him in his head before speaking again. "I don't think you should hang out with him for a while," he said carefully.

"What?" she asked incredulously. "You want me to stop hanging out with my best friend because of some stupid dreams?"

"They're not just stupid dreams, Steph! I took Psychology, ok? So I know that dreams have different meanings," he said, crossing his arms across his chest. "So yeah, I kind of want you to stop hanging with him, at least for the next two weeks."

"How can you ask me to do that? He's my _best friend_," she emphasized. "He's the one who helped me plan that whole Valentine's Day thing for you. He and my dad helped me out with the whole thing, and now you don't even want me around him?"

"Steph, you know that I'm an insanely jealous man when it comes to you. Can you blame me for that?" he asked, reaching out to touch her. "I went so long secretly loving you and being forced to watch you with other men, and now that I have you, I always have this fear that one of these days, you'll just up and leave me for a better man..."

"You don't have to be so insecure in your relationship with me. I'd never leave you," she assured him. "You should know that by now, Chris. I want to spend the rest of my life with you... I'm _going_ to spend the rest of my life with you...and nothing is going to ever change that, especially not some silly dreams that John's been having."

"Good," he said, lying back down in the bed and pulling her with him. "Because I love you so much, Steph, and I don't want to lose you."

"You're not," she said firmly, looking at him. "I've told you this innumerable times, but I'll tell you again. I'm _yours_, and nothing's going to change that. I _love_ you. Only you."

He looked at her, observing the look of sincerity on her face before relaxing. "Did we just have an argument?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I think that would classify as a small dispute," she replied. "It's weird, isn't it?"

"It _is_ weird," he agreed. "We rarely have arguments. I mean, I can count on one hand how many arguments we've had since we got engaged on Valentine's Day..."

"Other couples have arguments all the time, and do you know what they do afterwards?" she asked, lowering her voice.

He smirked at her. "They make up..."

"I hear makeup sex is the best," she said wistfully. "Too bad I'll never know..."

"Oh please. Any sex with me is the best, because I'm the best and you know it," he said, leaning over her. "And if you _really _want to know what makeup sex is like... I'd be more than willing to give you a demonstration right now."

"Do it, then," she demanded, and she smiled as he leaned down to kiss her. She pushed him back for a minute and looked at him. "Chris?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Just so you know, I took Psychology, too," she informed him smugly, and then she reached over and turned out the lamp on the table next to the bed. "Now come here..."


End file.
